Our Darkest Hour
by StudentofDust
Summary: As a part of a club initiation, three students sneak into Library Island... and never make it out. Meanwhile, evil mages are beginning to attack Mahora Academy students- both mages and mundanes. The two events seem not to be connected... But are they?


**Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and others. I know some of you might be wondering why the heck I haven't been posting many **_**Mahou Sensei Negima!**_** fanfics lately. Well, it's because of my recent obsession with a little movie called **_**Push**_**. Yeah, I went and saw it, fell in love with it, and started working on a fanfiction for it, one that has officially stalled.**

**So, I decided to get back to my roots, and start up a new **_**Negima!**_** fic. Cool thing is: this is my first ever **_**Mahou Sensei Negima!**_** fanfic to ever include OC's. (If you can't tell who they are, hint: Every single member of the fifth-grade Book Club is an OC that I have created sometime in the past.)**

**Once again, I hope you enjoy!!!**

The cafeteria was filled with students, all hungry for one form of lunch or another. As was usually the case, their previous classes had taken a toll on them, both physically and mentally, and they were all ready to fill up on energy-giving food, but also just to talk to their friends and play catch-up.

As on most days, the students at Mahora Academy were seated by their class designation, but even within their large groups, cliques had formed- the brainy kids sat together, as did the Goths, the rich kids and the rejects.

And then there was the oddest grouping of them all, at least to the other students. These were the kids who had a love for books, a voracious appetite for the written word.

Such was the case in the fifth grade section. A group of six of the kids, all from different subsections of the class, had bonded together, brought to each other by one common factor: they had all seen each other , at various times and places, with their noses buried in novels of all lengths, genres, and complexities.

In spite of their many differences, though, they remained fast friends, and spent as much time as they could together.

After they were all seated together, their conversation resumed.

"Has anyone ever heard of Library Island?" Mikata asked. The group had been around long enough to understand her usually soft-spoken voice, so they had no problem interpreting what she had said.

"Of course we have," replied Kentaro, the _de facto_ leader of the group. The other four voiced their agreement with Kentaro's response, and not falsely, either- among the "book nerds," Library Island was like heaven, a place where all of them longed with all their hearts to enter.

"I wonder what it's like in there…" Mikata continued.

"I heard that every book in the world is in there!" Aiko said.

"No, that can't be right," replied Kentaro. "Library Island's big, but it's not _that_ big."

All was silent for a moment, as the Book Club (for that is what they were calling themselves at the moment) thought intently about what majestical wonders were really contained within Library Island. Their imaginations ran wild, as their fantastical adventures grew more complex by the second.

The silence was soon broken, though, by Kita, another member of the Book Club: "Has anyone ever actually _been_ to Library Island?"

"Lots of people," replied Aiko. She began counting on her fingers as she named them one by one: "School officials, visiting government officers, the Library Exploration Club-"

Miyu, the newest member of the club spoke up: "Um… who?"

Aiko smiled at her, pointing to a spot behind Miyu. "See those four girls over there, surrounded by all those books? That's the Library Exploration Club. The one on the far left is Ayase Yue, then Konoe Konoka-"

"As in… the headmaster, Konoe? That Konoe?"

Aiko was surprised that Miyu knew the headmaster's name. "Yep, one and the same. Konoka is the headmaster's granddaughter."

Miyu smiled. "She must be really happy."

Aiko laughed. "True enough. Anyways, the one sitting beside Konoka-sama is Miyazaki Nodoka- the one with the bangs covering most of her eyes."

"And who's the other girl? The one drawing?"

"Her?" replied Aiko. "That's Saotome Haruna. She's technically not a member of the Library Exploration Club, but she's best friends with the members and hangs out with them all the time."

"They look too cool…" Miyu commented. The rest of them agreed.

"We really look up to them," Kentaro said, taking a bite out of a sushi roll. "They're our heroes, whether they know it or not."

Miyu was about to say something in response, but just then the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Silently, they went their separate ways, after promising to meet up after school to talk some more- and (though she didn't know it yet) continue Miyu's initiation into the club.

••

With their promise to hang out after school fixed prominently in their minds, the rest of the day passed by almost in a blur. Sooner than they expected, the last bell rang, and the kids all piled out of their classrooms, eager to get to their own things that they wanted to do.

As promised, the girls met outside, under their usual shady tree.

"Where's Miyu?" Kentaro asked.

"She had to talk to our math teacher about something," Kita replied. "She said she'd be here as soon as she could."

Once they had glanced around to make sure that Miyu hadn't been waiting towards them unexpectedly, they began to talk of other matters.

"Same as always for Miyu-chan's initiation?" Aiki asked.

Kentaro replied, "I've been thinking about that. This time around, I want to try something different."

"What is it?" Kita asked excitedly.

Kentaro was about to tell them, when someone called out from a few yards away: "Hey, guys!"

They turned and saw Miyu running over to them, waving animatedly. Kentaro simply smiled. "You all will find out when she does."

When Miyu had reached them, Kentaro spoke up: "Hey, Miyu-chan. Glad you could make it."

Miyu flushed slightly. "Th-thank you…"

Kentaro laughed softly. "In any case, there's something we wanted to talk to you about."

Miyu looked slightly confused, as she glanced at Kentaro. "Is this about the club? You aren't kicking me out, are you?" Her voice rose slightly as she said the last bit.

All of them laughed, which only served to confuse Miyu even more.

"That's not it at all," Aiko explained. "In fact, we really want you to be in the club. But, the only way you can fully get into it, is by going through our initiation"

Miyu was extremely happy that they actually wanted her to be in the club, but she was hesitant on one point. "Your… initiation?"

Kentaro spoke up: "Yeah. Basically, it's just a test to determine whether you get full membership in the club." Seeing a look of shock on Miyu's face, he quickly added: "Don't worry- it's nothing painful, nothing that's actually going to get you hurt. The worst our initiations have ever gotten someone, was an afternoon in detention."

Miyu still wasn't completely convinced about this, but she still wanted very badly to become a full-fledged member of the club.

So, she said, "Okay, what do I have to do?"

Kentaro smiled. "Simple. All you have to do is sneak into Library Island and take a photo of one of the dragon statues on the third floor. Bring back the picture, and you're in."

_Sounds easy enough…_ Miyu thought to herself. She asked the one last question on her mind: "Do I have to go alone?"

"Nope," Kentaro replied. "You'll be able to get in easier if there's more of you. Aiko and Kita will go with you, since they know the most about Library Island." The two of them took this in stride, considering this was the first that they'd ever heard that they'd be accompanying Miyu on her task.

"When will the initiation be?" Miyu asked.

"Tomorrow night…" Kentaro replied. "Halloween night."

A shiver ran down Miyu's spine, one that had nothing to do with the gust of wind that had just kicked up along the school grounds. She tried valiantly not to show her fear inside her, but she didn't know how well she was doing it. _I have to be strong…_

Kentaro smiled. "Be at the entrance to Library Island at nine-thirty tomorrow night." With that, he grabbed his bag and went off in the direction of his dorm; the others soon followed suit, after wishing Miyu one last good-luck. In a moment, they were all gone, leaving Miyu alone under the shade tree, wondering just what she had gotten herself into.

••

At precisely nine-thirty, Miyu was standing in front of the gate that barred the entrance to Library Island. She wondered where the other two girls were, but not for long- a few minutes later, Aiko and Kita showed up.

"Sorry we're late," Kita apologized. "It took us longer than we thought to get out of the dorm unnoticed."

"You ready?" Aiko asked.

Miyu reluctantly nodded.

"Then let's go!" Kita said emphatically.

In a group, they walked over to the solid-iron gate. The spaces between the framework bars were just big enough for them to slip in one by one with relative ease, and in a moment, all three were on Library Island grounds.

Silently, they walked along the wide concrete pathway. Miyu's anxiety was growing by the minute, so in an attempt to allay her fears, she reached out and took Aiko's hand. Aiko smiled and closed her hand around Miyu's palm. Almost immediately, Miyu's fear began to abate, and her breathing soon leveled out to normal.

A short while later, they reached the entrance to the main floor. Aiko pulled on the heavy concrete door, but it didn't budge an inch.

"How are we supposed to get in there," Miyu asked, "if the door's locked?"

In response, Aiko tightened her grip on Miyu's hand, and led her over to a first-floor window.

"Help me push on it," Aiko whispered. Begrudgingly, Miyu let go of Aiko's hand, and the two of them pushed as hard as they could on the window. It creaked loudly for a moment, startling Miyu slightly, but then effortlessly opened the rest of the way.

Aiko smiled and, with Kita's help, boosted Miyu up the rest of the way into the building. Kita went next, then finally, Aiko slipped in, taking care to shut the window and lock it behind her.

Aiko and Kita both pulled out flashlights and clicked them on, illuminating the area around them. Noticing that Miyu was not following their example, Aiko asked, "Did you not bring a flashlight?"

"No…" Miyu timidly replied. "I didn't know I was supposed to…"

Aiko laughed softly. "No problem," she said, "just stick close to me." She held out her hand to Miyu, shining her flashlight on it to make her offer clear. Miyu generously accepted it, and gripped Aiko's hand tightly. The warmth of their hands flowed together, and both of them blushed simultaneously, though because of the darkness, neither of them could see each other's faces.

Somehow, Kita knew, though, but she kept silent.

Quietly, they proceeded, the first phase of their assignment complete. All three of them wanted desperately to just get lost in the myriad of books around them, but they knew they couldn't; they had a mission to carry out.

It took them awhile to get there, but eventually, they found the dragon statues. Miyu pulled out her camera and took a few shots, the camera's flash bulb going off each time.

Satisfied, the three girls turned to leave, when a loud clatter reverberated from behind them. All three girls shrieked and turned around at the same time, but all they saw was a brass bowl that had clattered onto the floor.

"Let's just go…" Kita whispered, her voice shaking as she spoke. The other two concurred, and they turned again to leave.

They had scarcely taken a few steps, though, when a thick shroud was thrown over them, completely blackening their view. Kita and Aiko pushed with all their might on the covering, but it did not move an inch.

Through their struggle, a dark, malevolent voice emanated from outside the shroud, chilling their blood in their veins: _You're… mine… now…_

The three of them started to scream, but the veil silenced their voices to the outside world. To all others outside the confines of Library Island, the night was as it should be: silent.

Dead silent.

**Yeah, that's right. I went there. *laughs evilly***


End file.
